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Hello Fellows So I have some thoughts about Alpharius Omegon and the Alpha Legion that I would like to share. Some of it is pure speculations and I need to stress out how HUGH a fan of the Alpha Legion I am (or was) before Pratorian of Dorn, althrough in retrospectrum, I should have seen it coming. Some of the questions I always have been thinking about when considering the Alpha Legion and their Primarch(s) are: How was the Legion structured/organized? How was their command structure? Who were the senior officers? What was the individual ambitions of it members? What was the sacrifies the Legion and it members made? Was there any friction or rivalry between officers? Was there any fractions within the Legion? What was the difference between the Legion before/during GC, during the Heresy and after the Heresy? What was the difference between the Legion once Alpharius Omegon vanished? What was the impact the rivialry between Alpharius and Omegon had on The Legion? I think these are quit relevant questions to ask as, once you dig into them, it kind of gives an interesting picuture of the Legion and their Primarch(s). To make it simpler, I will adress the Primarch who landed on Terra as "The First" and the one who was found at Bar'Savor as "The Later" So here are my thoughts and please be mindfull that some of its are questional. How was the Legion structured/organized? To answer this question, you will have to ask yourself: How in an organization (of any kind) structured? When dealing and organizing people, you need to allocate responsibility to determines which individuals get to participate in which decision-making processes, and thus to what extent their views shape the organization's actions. Each member needs to know who has what responsibility and to what extend. In simpler terms, you need to know who is who, from the humble line soldier to the leader in command of a Legion. At least in plain terms. You cannot allocate responsibility if there is no structure and no one knows who has what responsibility. This includes the Alpha Legion. Without knowing their leader, there would be no structure. It is therefore clear, that the Alpha Legion was structured in some way, unknown to the outsiders of the Legion itself. However the Alpha Legion's organize structure was radical different from other military structures. In an ordinary military structure you would have pyramid or three shaped structure; different levels, each with their own representative and leaders, area of responsibility who knows who to defere to. At the apex of the three/pyramid, we would have the Legion Master. At the next level, we would have his deputies, the next level their vice and so on until we have a manager responsible for a team (a sergeant and a squad). In my guess, in the case of the Alpha Legion, we instead have a flat organiational structure with, in the center, the Legion Master of the Alpha Legion (Alpharius). He would be the force of gravity for the legion to center around. This "codename" for the Legion Master of the Alpha Legion, Alpharius, was always the center of their structure. His idendity was something he or any of his legionaries would take up and play according to their goals. Most notible The First Primarch found and then the Later Primarch found were the primary holders of that codename. But in realistic view, any officer could have played and did play Alpharius, at one time or another. This several practical purposes; ensures that it satisfies many of the needsof its members in terms of autonomy and self-realization, it elevates the level of responsibility of baseline legionaries and eliminating layers of middle leaders by reaching all personnel involved in decisions more quickly, andit enables officers-in-training to take terms and be play an acting or senior officer - thereby molding them into one. That is why the Alpha Legion was so effective when it was still a small legion; numbering only a few thousand legionaries and why they reveal themself later, why they HAD to reveal themself later on - They become too big to maintain their flat organization (I will get back to that later on). Two things must have had a hugh impact on the Legion's structure: i) As the Legion grew in size, its started to delayering, and ii) the discovery and reunion with The Later. We see in Alpharius - Head of the Hydra, that before meeting The Later, The First have a close collaboration with several members of a headhunter team; (Autilion Skorr - the headhunter Prime, Eltan, Dercius, Hymor and Jha-Tena) who, in addition to Ingo Pech, Thias Herzog, Silonius Kel and Sheed Ranko all appear to be at some level of ranking in their way of acting and adressing the First.... Perhaps they are actual or potential officers, perhaps this is the way The First judged the performance of officers-in-training which the team leader or the entire squad could have been; Being evaluated whether any of them should be considered for further promotion while under the personal supervision of The First. This was perhaps also the way The First could scout out any potential candidate for officer training (we know, that Silonius Kel was once a headhunter and Sheed Ranko illustrate that he too has been trained in the art of infiltrations during the Tenebrae mission. Both could have been serving once under The First as headhunters (through perhaps not at the same time). As they Legion grew and the scope and complexity of its missions became more wider The First would more and more have to relay on his officers to make decisions independetly of the Primarch(s), and, more importantly slide away from the original thinking. It becomes more clear, that neither of the Legion's two Primarchs do not get to know their underlings very well or visa-verse. The underlings do not know what The First wish for the Imperium and the Emperor. We see in Deliverance Lost where the Alpha Legion infiltrater seems unaware of how Alpharius Omegon is/are in personality. In The Serpeant Beneath we also hear "Omegon" (who in my opinion is the First) ask for recomendations from his close subordinate. Why, if I may ask, can he himself not single out a squad who can perform this important mission? It seems to me that, at this stage, the Legion has grown too large and "Alpharius", The First, the real one, has become so obscure that he does not know junior- and newcoming officers and their command. They might have been supervised under other officers (Arvas Janic, the commanding officer of the Tenebrae installation, was for example supervised by Thias Herzog and a Ving Neriton) gained experience and advanced in ranks through different campaigns or where the Primarch(s) could have a closer look (he cannot be everywhere at once). This would lead to group thinking; a tendency among a groups' members to agree to everything at all costs. - What is the Alpha Legion's virtues, who do they fight for? It might be, that the junior/newcoming officers simple do not know what The First envisioned The Alpha Legion to be, or what its virtues are... Both for themself, for the Imperium and the Emperor. As the Legion has a tendency for lying, each legionare could actually say one thing (or anything), and think something entirely different, their interpretations of the Legion's virtues being left open for interpretations (this is also seen Deliverance Lost where the Alpha Legion infiltrater cannot state what the Alpha Legion's virtues/values are... He decribe the Legion's methodes but does not comprehend the virtues/values). This would normally not mean that it is a problem. The other legions have the same problem, however they solve it, by having the leader of their legion/organization, their Primarch, willing and capable of specifying/clarify what their virtues/values of their respective Legion are. This is here where the Alpha Legion faces their greatest challenge. They have TWO Primarchs. They have two in command, two to interpretate its vauge idears. Since the Legion was first singlehandedly ruled by The First, The Later may have told another interpretation of the legions philosophy to the new subordiantes; those that came into the Legion after Bar'Savor, thereby setting the Legion up for a split. Why would the Later set the Legion up for a split? Because no one wants to share power. The First is in full command of the entire Legion, what should the other do then? Become a footsoldier for his twin's wars and schemes? No... No one want to be that to one who you have so much in common with the one with all the glory. And The First has glory... He has after all, made a name for himself within his own Legion... So The Later start scheming... In the later HH books, it becomes clear, that the two Primarchs do not see eye to eye, possibly due to The First discovering what The Later is up to. That is where the power struggle for the Legion's command for real comes out, although it properly began soon after Bar'Savor. After the two Primarchs starten to measure each other and compare. The struggle between the two Primarchs would start, by having the Later telling different interpretations of the Legion's philosophy to the new subordinates, those who did not join the legion until after Bar'Savor. The senior officers, most of the Old Guard if you will (The First's protogeés during his single rule of the Legion) would know the original values and idears of the Legion, but then again, they would not know how to tell the two apart and would not know about their struggle until perhaps the HH. We see the power struggle in Legion during the Nurth campagin where they share a long look at each other before "Alpharius" (who in reality is The Later) gives in and goes with John Grammaticus' wish. In general, the two Primarchs, for the sake of apperings, did not openly fight against each other, as they both valuer unity about all. Teamwork if you will. However, when the Primarchs meet the Cabal in Legion and realize what might will happen, they also, both, realize that the HH can be used their own individual advance against the other twin. With this I will come back tomorrow to write more. Hope you enjoy.